President’s Message: Faculty Representatives Resign from Board of Regents
June 3, 2026In the spring of 2023, MUNFA agreed to an arrangement with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador for two faculty members to temporarily serve on the Board of Regents, to give the Government time to properly update the Memorial University Act and ensure regular representation on the Board, a system of elections and measures that would bring Board governance up to the standard seen at other Canadian universities. [IB 2022/23:53]
Three years have passed. The promised changes to the Act have not been made, and our colleagues on the Board have found it impossible to provide the transparency and accountability that our members and all members of the public have the right to expect.
As a result, both faculty representatives to the Board have resigned, effective immediately. Attached are the letters sent to the Minister of Education and to the Board of Regents about this decision and the challenges our members have encountered.
As all of you know, concerns about governance and the right of members of the Memorial community to participate in decision making about the future of the University were a key issue during our last round of negotiations. As MUNFA President and a member of Senate, I remain deeply concerned about the lack of commitment from the University to normal academic governance, particularly given the abdication of commitments to strengthening shared governance following our 2023 job action. As members will recall from IB 2025/2026:17, the University Administration unilaterally shut down the Collegial Governance Committee established through our last Collective Agreement before it could complete its work or deliver its public report.
MUNFA will continue to press the Government for the long overdue modernization of the Memorial University Act, and I will continue to fight for the kind of university that our members want and that the people of this province deserve. As always, members with questions or feedback are encouraged to reach out to the MUNFA office at munfa@mun.ca.
In solidarity,
Dr. Lisa Moores,
President, Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty Association
